Want to get a kid reading? Set up a challenge. Lesson learned!
So I made a deal with my two 5th grade classes that if they could log 4,000 minutes of reading time in the last two weeks of school, we could have a movie and popcorn during our last class period. After our vocabulary test...I'm not that much of a push-over!
Well, the kids took the challenge to heart and blew it out of the water. One class has read 5,935 so far and the other class has read an amazing 8,294 minutes! All the reading was logged using ReadingRewards.com, an excellent site I plan to talk more about in another post. I noticed some interesting things in doing this challenge with the kids. The kids that became the leaders, weren't necessarily the obvious leaders in class. Some of the ones that tend to be quiet and reserved were given a way to shine and motivate others. On the other hand, the child who ended up being my top reader in both classes surprised me. Not one that has made me think books were her "thing" this year, she found a series that she loved and spent two weeks immersed in reading. By herself, she logged almost half of the 4,000 minutes her class needed to win the challenge. By the way, the book and its sequels that she read was The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler, one of my favorites too!
To reward my top readers, I bought them a giant lollipop and made them a certificate for being a "Star Reader" in the challenge.
So I made a deal with my two 5th grade classes that if they could log 4,000 minutes of reading time in the last two weeks of school, we could have a movie and popcorn during our last class period. After our vocabulary test...I'm not that much of a push-over!
Well, the kids took the challenge to heart and blew it out of the water. One class has read 5,935 so far and the other class has read an amazing 8,294 minutes! All the reading was logged using ReadingRewards.com, an excellent site I plan to talk more about in another post. I noticed some interesting things in doing this challenge with the kids. The kids that became the leaders, weren't necessarily the obvious leaders in class. Some of the ones that tend to be quiet and reserved were given a way to shine and motivate others. On the other hand, the child who ended up being my top reader in both classes surprised me. Not one that has made me think books were her "thing" this year, she found a series that she loved and spent two weeks immersed in reading. By herself, she logged almost half of the 4,000 minutes her class needed to win the challenge. By the way, the book and its sequels that she read was The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler, one of my favorites too!
To reward my top readers, I bought them a giant lollipop and made them a certificate for being a "Star Reader" in the challenge.